“I… you… you’re so wicked! At this height, I’d rather just fall to my death!”
“Oh? As expected of the Young Lord of the Demon Race, you certainly have guts. As — you — wish?”
Mu Lingxi spoke the last few words slowly with a playful tone, causing Yun Fei’s heart to sink.
The hand Mu Lingxi used to hold her began to loosen slightly.
Yun Fei’s expression changed instantly.
“Wait! What are you doing? Don’t! I was joking! Don’t let go! Ahhh — !”
Yun Fei felt a force push her, successfully ejecting her from Mu Lingxi’s embrace.
She plummeted straight down.
The whistling wind shrieked in her ears.
Yun Fei’s mind went completely blank, and the only thing she could do was let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.
Just as she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the bone-shattering pain of impact, her right hand was suddenly snatched.
Her toes were only one step away from the ground!
“Whew… whew… you scared the life out of me!”
After catching her breath, Yun Fei looked up to see Mu Lingxi still sitting leisurely on her sword.
The mockery on the Saintess’s face was not hidden in the slightest, causing a surge of fury to rise within Yun Fei.
“Hmm… looking at your expression… maybe you haven’t had enough fun yet? It’s fine, we can go again…”
Hearing this, the anger in Yun Fei’s heart vanished instantly.
“No, no, no! No more. Mu… ah, no, Lady Saintess, stop torturing me. Look, it’s getting late. We still have to report to our respective Academy Peaks, don’t we?”
“Hmm… fine. But if you want to practice Sword Kinesis, you really need someone with rich experience to accompany you. For example, me! I wasn’t entirely teasing you just now. See? My skills are pretty good.”
“I…”
To be honest, Yun Fei wanted to refuse.
She could easily find someone else to watch over her.
However, in this territory of the Profane Realm, she had almost no acquaintances.
The clansmen who had come with her were all rookies who hadn’t even reached the level where they could perform Sword Flight.
Thinking about it… it seemed Mu Lingxi was her best option.
But… she wasn’t reconciled!
The dignified Young Lord of the Demon Realm had to be supervised by the Saintess of the Profane Realm while learning Sword Kinesis!
If word of this got out, where would her dignity go?
Yun Fei shook off Mu Lingxi’s hand and planted her feet on the ground.
Feeling the solid touch of the earth, she felt a sense of peace she had never experienced before.
“Fine… fine! Humph! Witnessing this Young Lord’s progress and growth is your honor! I’ll let you have this opportunity as a bargain!”
Yun Fei waved her hand, preparing to leave, but Mu Lingxi pulled her back.
“What now?”
“I charge tuition.”
“Tuition? …How much do you want?”
Yun Fei gnashed her teeth and glared into Mu Lingxi’s eyes.
Her expression clearly said, ‘Don’t you dare go too far!’
“Oh? You have a Chamber of Commerce backing you, don’t you? I don’t want much. 500 Spiritual Yuan a day until the day you’ve mastered it. How about it?”
“500? Are you robbing me? I’m not doing it!”
“Hey! Don’t be in such a rush, Yun Fei. Think about it. Who are you? You’re the Young Lord of the Demon Realm. Mastery of Sword Flight shouldn’t take you more than a few days, right? Out there, a Sword Kinesis course from zero to mastery costs 10,000 Spiritual Yuan! Maybe with me, you’ll learn it for just 2,000?”
‘Hiss — that seems to make sense! This Young Lord is a genius. If I put in a little effort, I might even learn it by tomorrow. Then I’d only have to give her 500!’
However, why was Mu Lingxi being so persistent today?
Was she out of money?
That shouldn’t be right.
Shouldn’t the stipend for a core disciple of the Evergreen Sect be quite substantial?
“Are you that short on money? If you’re so broke, why did you cover the Spiritual Yuan for me to fix the house that day?”
At the mention of this topic, a flicker of physical pain crossed Mu Lingxi’s face, followed by… indignation?
What had happened?
What could possibly rile this Saintess up to such a degree?
It certainly wasn’t Yun Fei’s doing; she hadn’t done anything!
“Humph! Just talking about it makes me angry! Yesterday was the day for me to maintain my Life-bound Sword, but I didn’t have enough maintenance materials. I didn’t want to run all the way back to the sect to buy them, so I just randomly asked a senior I saw on the roadside. Under his recommendation, I spent a fortune on materials, only to find out after I got back that the quality didn’t meet the requirements!”
“When I went to look for that guy later, both the person and his goods were gone! I only realized afterward that I’d been played! It’s absolutely infuriating! My Master has gone back into seclusion, and during this exchange at Dawn Academy, I don’t get my monthly sect stipend!”
As she spoke, her eyes turned slightly red.
“Those materials are wasted, and I have no money left. But my sword still hasn’t been maintained!”
Yun Fei listened gleefully to Mu Lingxi’s aggrieved complaints, struggling to control her facial expression so she wouldn’t burst out laughing.
“So you were scammed… but didn’t you notice the quality wasn’t up to par when you bought them?”
“I… I didn’t know. In the past, my Master handled all my maintenance materials for me. This time, I only realized it because my sword showed clear signs of rejection when I tried to make the maintenance fluid!”
‘Good grief! What is this? Who would have thought Mu Lingxi was, in a sense, a sheltered young lady who hadn’t seen the world?’
Look at that aggrieved expression after finding out she’d been cheated.
‘Boo hoo… the Lady Saintess was scammed because she didn’t know her goods. How pitiful…’
“Sigh, fine. Seeing as you’re so pathetic, I’ll agree! Truly, this is your honor. To receive charity from this Young Lord is a rare thing!”
—
At Alchemy Peak, Yun Fei hopped off the back of the Immortal Crane.
She exhaled a breath of turbid air and patted the crane’s head.
“Hmm… you were very well-behaved this time. You did well. How about you just follow this Young Lord from now on? There will be plenty of benefits for you!”
This Immortal Crane was the very one Yun Fei had “persuaded” with great difficulty earlier.
Upon hearing Yun Fei’s words, the crane rolled its eyes.
‘Humph! If it weren’t for that woman in red forcing me, I wouldn’t even bother with you!’
“Hmm? You’re rolling your eyes at me? Humph! It feels a bit weird calling you ‘Immortal Crane’ all the time anyway. From now on, your name is… White-Eyed Crane! It’s settled. No arguments allowed!”
The White-Eyed Crane’s eyes widened.
It was unclear if it was out of anger or excitement, but it began flapping its wings repeatedly on the spot.
Yun Fei ignored it and walked toward her destination.
Alchemy Peak truly lived up to its name.
The moment she entered its territory, a thick scent of medicine wafted into her nose.
Yun Fei’s nostrils flared; she could faintly smell the scent of scorched earth and gunpowder.
‘Which senior just blew up their furnace?’
“Hmm? Are you a new student for the Alchemy Academy?”
Just then, a slightly childish voice rang out.
Yun Fei looked toward the source and saw a child… dressed in light green clothes?
‘There are children here too? Didn’t they say the minimum age for academy admission is 18? How did she sneak in?’
Out of basic courtesy, Yun Fei responded.
“Ah… yes. And you are?”
The child’s face brightened upon hearing this, and she jogged over with a *patter-patter* sound.
“I am your senior. My name is Ye Yue! I was punished by the instructor for blowing up my furnace earlier and was sent here to distribute the Alchemy Academy student manuals. Here, this is your manual. Please keep it safe.”
Yun Fei took the small booklet in a daze.
“Ah… oh, the manual… wait! You’re a senior?”
“That’s right. Is there a problem?”
“But your height…”
“Shut up! How hateful… The instructor comments on my height, and now even a new junior says the same thing… I-I just took the wrong medicine and ate a Shrinking Pill instead of a Spirit Recovery Pill. Who knew the Shrinking Pill I refined on a whim would be so effective…”
As she spoke, Ye Yue’s tone gradually carried a hint of a sob.
‘Well, she certainly shrunk. Seeing her about to cry, it seems even her maturity shrunk a bit.’
Yun Fei grumbled inwardly, but she suddenly realized that since she also suffered body changes due to eating the wrong thing, weren’t they kindred spirits?
No, they were people who shared the same plight.
‘Alas… how tragic.’
If she had to choose between shrinking in height or turning into a girl… she would probably choose being a girl.
After all, she was the one who would lead the Demon Realm in the future.
Being tiny wouldn’t provide any intimidation.
Turning into a woman meant she could grow up to be like her Mother, so she didn’t have to worry about that problem.
Thinking this way, the senior in front of her seemed much more pitiful than herself.
‘I should probably comfort her in this situation, right?’
Yun Fei looked at Ye Yue, who was standing there wiping her tears, and felt a bit stuck.
‘If it were Mu Lingxi, how would she offer comfort?’
‘Oh, it should be like this!’
“It’s okay, Senior! Actually, being tiny is quite cute!”
Ye Yue froze.
Her gaze traveled upward, only to have her view blocked by two “evil” mounds.
“I used to have those too…”
“Ah? What did you say?”
“…I said… what do you know! Someone like you could never understand what I’m feeling!”
Ye Yue let out a loud shout and then ran off with more *patter-patter* steps.
“Uh… what happened? Wasn’t that comforting? Why does it feel like she’s even sadder now?”
Yun Fei scratched her head and sighed.
“I really do need to interact with people more. Otherwise, what will I do when I lead the Demon Realm in the future?”
Look at her; she didn’t even understand what she had said wrong.
Lacking any other choice, Yun Fei opened the manual in her hand to flip through it.
The booklet didn’t have much content.
Rather than a student manual, it was more like a list of precautions accompanied by case studies.
For example, when beginning to refine pills, one must ensure soundproofing.
The attached case study mentioned that at the founding of the academy, the Alchemy Academy had suffered a chain reaction of furnace explosions.
The specific reason was that the students lacked experience in this area and had failed to take any soundproofing measures.
Furthermore, because the alchemy rooms were frequently damaged, the academy hadn’t installed Soundproofing Arrays to save on costs.
This resulted in one person’s furnace exploding, and the noise it made interrupted the concentration of the person in the adjacent room, causing their furnace to blow up as well.
And so it continued, forming the entirety of the incident.
‘Good grief! A chain reaction of explosions! How intense must that have been? Just thinking about that scene… tsk tsk tsk.’
Yun Fei was the type who loved to watch a good mess as long as it didn’t involve her.
She took it as a bit of entertainment.
“Uh… I wasn’t paying attention, and it’s almost noon. I’d better get to the square.”
She had no idea how long she had been reading.
When Yun Fei looked up again, the sun was almost directly overhead.
She quickly tucked the manual away and followed the flow of the crowd forward.
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